Dress for success! Attend your interview in professional business attire.
Consider providing examples when answering questions to validate your response.
During the interview panel, you will be given a series of questions. These questions are intended to determine characteristics of a candidate, including:
- The Mission Statement of WDFW Police and Core values (ASPIRE)
- Decision-making skills
- Knowledge of Fish and Wildlife Officer roles
- Natural resource knowledge
- Preparation
How you can prepare
Review the Fish and Wildlife Officer announcement.
Review the Fish and Wildlife website: https://wdfw.wa.gov/
Review the Enforcement Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/WDFWPolice
Review the regulations WDFW Police enforce. Study RCW Title 77 and the following hunting and fishing pamphlets:
- Fishing in Washington sport fishing rules
- Washington’s big game hunting seasons and regulations
- Washington state migratory waterfowl and upland game seasons
- Wild turkey spring season
Learn about Washington’s natural resource issues and opportunities. Become familiar with the commercial fishing industry, tribal hunting and fishing, taxidermy, recreational hunting, recreational fishing harvest practices, and current events in our state.
Take a ride-along. Candidates may request a ride with a Fish and Wildlife officer by contacting our dispatch center at 360-902-2936. Choose option 1, and tell the communications officer that you wish to schedule a ride-along in preparation for the interview panel. A background check is required prior to a candidate taking a ride-along. A candidate must also comply with the Governor’s vaccination mandate.
Read up. There are many general publications and study guides available to help you prepare for a police oral panel exam. The following publications may be helpful:
- “The Thin Green Line: Outwitting Poachers, Smugglers and Market Hunters” by Terry Grosz
- “Wildlife Wars: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden” by Terry Grosz
- “Give a Boy a Gun: A True Story of Law and Disorder in the American West” by Jack Olsen
- “Shell Games: A True Story of Cops, Con Men, and the Smuggling of America’s Strangest Wildlife” by Craig Welch
- “Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish” by G. Bruce Knecht